Wine Girl: A sommelier's tale of making it in the toxic world of fine dining - Book of the month May 2025

Wine Girl: A sommelier's tale of making it in the toxic world of fine dining - Book of the month May 2025


The book "Wine Girl: A sommelier's tale of making it in the toxic world of fine dining" written by Victoria James is "a brilliant, Bourdain-style story about a young woman making her way through the sexist world of fine dining in America," says the Observer.

Aged twenty-one, Victoria James was named the US's youngest sommelier, working in Michelin-starred restaurants.

The groping patrons she learned to handle, but, behind the scenes, the world of high-end dining was a mess of fractious relationships and unacknowledged abuse. It would take hitting rock-bottom for Victoria to find her way back to the industry she adores.

Chapters:
Part I: age 7-14
  • Shut the door
  • The poor kids
  • The greasy spoon
  • The cook, the dishwasher and me
Part II: age 14-19
  • Drink girl
  • The love cycle
  • The graveyard shift
  • What the psych ward taught
Part III: age 19-20
  • Can you bartend?
  • The wine school
  • Cellar rat
  • Matter other than grapes
Part IV: age 21-23
  • The circle of light
  • Wine is a blood sport
  • The youngest sommelier
  • The undocumented sommelier
Part V: age 23-24
  • Watch out for the wives
  • The eagle has landed
  • The factory and the farm
  • Mirage of a Magical Kingdom
Part VI: age 24-26
  • Like pigs for slaughter
  • To blossom
  • The wine salesman
Part VII: age 26-18
  • The real world
  • The flower
  • A manta wedding
Reasons to read the book: Wine Girl is the memoir of a young woman breaking free from her traumatic childhood. It's the story of overcoming a notoriously misogynistic business, and of the restorative power of a glass of wine with friends.

Where you can find the book: the book is published in English and you can find it online on Books Express; the orders are received in about 2-3 weeks.

Carmina Nițescu
Winesday & Winesday App

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